Interview with Loani Prior, Queen of the (Wild) Tea Cosies.

Green Eyed Monster Tea Cosy

Why wool?

Wool seemed the perfect lazy thing to play with. I could sit in front of the tele with everything I needed around me. Nothing to wash and put away afterwards. It is all about colour and movement. Colour of the wool. Movement of the fingers. That and the occassional saunter to the stash bins for more yummy wool.

How did you learn the basics of knitting?

My Neighbour Mrs Theodosiou taught me when I was six. Every girl has that simple story. Interesting how ingrained in the brain those first lessons are.

How would you describe your tea cosies?

Funny! Sculptural! Very different!

What have you been working on this week?

Lots of Carmen Miranda tea cosies for book shop exhibitions in Noosa, Brisbane and Sydney. Sydney siders can see a mini exhibition at Shearers on Norton from the 18th June and then at Better Read than Dead from the 2nd July.

I think you are a great example of someone who has taken something generally seen as a craft and turned it into an art form. Do you think of yourself more as an artist or a crafter, or do you even consider there is a difference between the two?

Nah. I'm a funny knitter. That's all. I'm not about to get precious about it all.

Where do you look for inspiration when you are about to start something new?

The wool. The web. Books. There isn't much that is truly new. Just variations on a theme. I love making the variations.

If you had to choose a favourite piece you have made what would it be?

Depends what day you ask me. It is usually the latest thing

What has been the most difficult aspect of your craft to learn?

Fair Isle requires some new skills - learning to knit left and right handed at the same time was pretty neat. Definitely needs mastering now though

As an occasional crocheter, one of my biggest problems is in actually finishing things. How many pieces of work do you thing you have at home right now that haven't been finished?

That would be giving away too much information.

I read on your site that you have a book about to be published.

Yes. "Wild Tea Cosies". It's here! In bookstores now. This smile is hurting my face. There will be an extract in the July Women's Weekly and I learned last night that we have an overseas publisher for both the U.K. and the U.S. My funny little craft book gets two launches. One in Brisbane at the Avid Reader bookstore and one in Noosa at the Written Dimension. One just can't have enough book launches, I say.

Was it difficult to find a publisher?

Well, I was a BIT lucky. One morning I made calls to four craft publishers. The first three people were very rude. The fourth person smiled at me down the phone and said yes she'd like to look at what I had. And well Bob's your uncle.

More craft interviews